Tentering-machine.



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No. 745,023. PATENTBD Nov. 24, 1903. J. H. LOWNSBURY. TBNTERING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 19, 1902. N0 MODEL.

||||| umm n PATENIED NOV. 24, 1903. IT. H. LOWNSBURY.

TENTERING MACHINE. y APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19, 1902. N0 MODEL.

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Patented November 24, 1903.

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.IEHU H. LOWNSBURY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO H. W. BUTTERWORTH SYLVANIA.

da SONS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OE PENN- TENTERlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 745,023, dated November 24:, 1903..

Application iiled March 19, 1902. Serial No. 98,917. (No model.)

T0 mil whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JEHU H. LowNsBUaY,of the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,have invented an Improvement in Tentering-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to tenteringmachines; and it consists of improvements which are fully set forth in the following speciiication and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form part thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple form of support and power-transmitting gearing for driving the tentering-chains and reciprocating their carriers; and my invention comprehends certain improvements in driving mechanism for tentering-machines whereby a reciprocation may be imparted to the two parallel chains of clamps or stretching devices while driving them.

In carrying out my invention I support the longitudinal frames carrying the stretching devices so that they may be reciprocated longitudinally simultaneously in opposite directions, the said motions being secured by a transverse driving-shaft pivoted in universal bearings formed in the gearing and rocked in a horizontal plane by means of power devices. The driving-shaft is connected by suitable power-transmitting devices with the cloth-stretching chains or oonveyers, whereby its rotation produces a continual longitudinal travel of said conveyers or chains simultaneously with the reciprocation of the supports therefor. The universal pivot-support for the driving-shaft comprises a fixed frame across which the driving-shaft extends and relative to whichit is pivoted on a Vertical axis by means of a driving-gear guided in the frame and which is universally pivoted to the driving-shaft. If desired, horizontal guiding supports for the drving-shaft, preferably formed upon or attached to the pivot-support, may be employed.

My invention also comprehends minor details of construction, all of which will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a front elevation of one end of a tentering-machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a plan View of same. Fig.

3 is a sectional elevation of the power-transmitting devices on a larger scale, and Eig. 4c is a cross-section of same on line 4 4.

A A are the longitudinal reciprocating frames carrying thechains of cloth-clam ps or other suitable conveying devices for holding the edges of the cloth to be stretched and moving it through the machine. These frames are liournaled on vertical axis formed by upright pins G, horizontallyjournaled at g, concentric with the driving-shaft B.

The driving-shaft Bis supported by bearings M, which rest upon horizontal curved guides L upon the top portions of the arms of a fixed frame O. Inside the said guides L and extending around the shaft B are guides c of forked or other shape also secured to the frame C. Journaled between the guides c c is a large ring-hub I of the gear I. The hub of this gear is connected with the shaft B by a universal joint comprising a hub D, keyed to the shaft between the bearings M M and to which is pivoted by trunnions a floating ring W, said ring W being in turn pivoted to the ring-hub I by trunnions w, constituting an axis at right angles to the axis of the trunnions CZ. In this manner the gear I is properly connected to and supported by the shaft B, and while being caused to rotate in a vertical plane parallel to the length of the machine the shaft is free to rotate and oscillate in a horizontal plane to maintain its geared connection at E F with the reciprocating frames A A. The shaft B, being positively connected to the gear I, is held against end movement through the intervention of the hub of said gear in its action upon the guides c c. The wheel I may be any toothed wheel or other well-known type of wheel fortransmitting power.

J is a transverse power-shaft driven by means of a belt and pulley K or otherwise and extends transversely across the machine and is journaled at O' in the frame C. This shaft is provided with a pinion t', which meshes with the spur-wheel I, connected to the drivinglshaft B. A clutchjmay be used to throw the pinion t' into or out of connection with the power-shaft. This will provide means for petting the shaft B into or outof rotary motion. 4

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because the connections between the shaft B and wheel I cause slight movements in the vertical plane of the wheel I, which would prevent its being journaled in the bearings which support the shaft B itself. The hub I' of the wheel I, being made with flat surfaces and working between the U-shaped stationary guides c, holds the wheel in lateral position while permitting it to adjust itself freelyin the plane of its revolution. The U- shaped construction of the guide c permits the ready dismantling of the apparatus when necessary by lifting the shaft B vertically.

The driving-shaft B is provided with a bevel-gear E on each side of its axis, secured thereto by means of a key or feather, so as to permit adjustment longitudinally upon the shaft, but to positively rotate with it. Y The said bevel-gears E respectively mesh with horizontal bevel-gears F, secured to vertical shafts f, extending upward, journaled upon the pins G and terminating in driving-wheels H for the conveyer-chains. These wheels may be of any suitable construction-such as sprocket-wheels, for example. These shafts fare concentric with the vertical pivoted supports or pins G for the longitudinal frames A, so that during the oscillation of the driving-shaft the power-transmitting connections to the conveyer-chains are constantly maintained. The longitudinal frames A are supported, as is customary, at intervals in their `length by suitable pivoted supports, one of which is shown. These supports consist of a transverse frame` S, centrally pivoted upon a pedestal T and having adjustable supports S/ connecting with the under side of the 1ongitudinal frames by vertical pivots s. By means of a suitable hand-screw these supports S/ and their vertical pivots may be moved to or from each other to adjust the positions of the longitudinal frames relatively one to the other. These supports may be made in any other suit-able manner desired.

The end of the shaft B is journaled in a box movable upon a vertical axis and carried in a transversely reciprocating frame P, movable horizontally in bearings N under the action of a cam O, which (works between the flanges p., The cam O is secured upon a cam-shaft YR. The cam-shaft R is geared with a counter-shaft r by means of speed-reducing gears R R2, andsaid counter-shaft is also geared to the power-shaft J by a second set of gears J J2. It will now be observed that the power-shaft J is the primary cause of rotation of the cam to impart the reciprocation of the driving-shaft B as well as the source of power for rotating the said driving-shaft.

The cam mechanism above specified is fully described in the United States Patent to Gadd, No. 606,780, and no claim is made to it here. The particular gearingemployed or means for oscillating the driving-shaftis immaterial, as any suitable means may be employed for rotating the' cam as well as other means for rotating the driving-shaft-as,forinstance,such means as illustrated in patents to A. McLean, No. 569,763, dated October 20, 1896, E. Ainsworth, No, 569,734, dated October 20, 1896, and R. M. Hunter, No. 568,31t9, dated September 29, 1896, may be used.

It is immaterial what particular means is employed between the driving-shaft and conveyers, since various other methods of gearing for this purpose are well knownas shown, for example, in the patents above referred to.

The general arrangement of the tenteringmachine here shown is similar to that set out in patent to Gadd, No, 606,780, and is used simply as illustrative of such a machine as my invention is applicable to,`and hence while I require an oscillating driving-shaft and driving-gearing substantially of the character herein set'out between it and the powershaft for rotating it I do not restrict myself to any specific details with respect to the remaining portions of the machines, since my invention is, generally speaking, applicable to all types of tentering-machines.

While I prefer the construction shown, I do not limit myself to the minor details thereof, as they may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit `of my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a tentering-machine, the combination of two longitudinal carriers or conveyers vfor holding the cloth to be treated, a drivingshaft transversely arranged to said conveyers or carriers and adapted to oscillate upon an upright axis, power-transmitting connections between said driving-shaft and the conveyers or carriers whereby the same may be moved to cause the material to travel through the machine, power devices to cause said driving-shaft to reciprocate, a fixed frame having two vertical guides adjacent to the driving-shaft at a point intermediate of the conveyers or carriers, a driving-wheelsurrounding said shaft and having a hub of a width just equal to the space between the vertical guides and guided by the fixed guides so as to revolve continuously in the same plane with capacity for vertical adjustment, universal jointed connections between the driving-wheel and the oscillating driving-shaft whereby they revolve together irrespective of the oscillations of the driving-shaft, oscillating bearings for the driving-shaft independent of the driving-wheel, and suitable means for rotating the driving-wheel.

2. In a tentering-machine, the combination of two longitudinal carriers or conveyers for Vlos IIO

holding the cloth to be treated, a drivingshat't transversely arranged to said conveyers or carriers and adapted to oscillate upon an upright axis, power-transmitting connections between said driving-shaft and the con- Veyers or carriers whereby the same may be moved to canse the material to travel through the machine, power devices to cause said driving-shaft to reciprocate, a iiXed frame having vertical and horizontal guides adjacent to the driving-shaft at a point intermediate ofthe conveyers or carriers, sliding bearings movable horizontally upon said guide-frame and in which the driving-shaft is journaled and by which it is supported, a driving-wheel s urrounding' and supported by said shaft and guided vertically by the iixed guides so as to revolve continuously in the same plane, universal jointed connections between the driving-wheel and the oscillating driving-shaft whereby the driving-Wheel is supported by the shaft and they revolve together irrespective of the oscillations of the driving-shaft, supports for the driving-shaft independent of the driving-Wheel, and suitable means for rotating the driving-wheel.

3. In a tentering-machine, the combination of two longitudinal carriers or conveyers for holding the cloth to be treated, a drivingshaft transversely arranged to said conveyers or carriers and adapted to oscillate upon an upright vertical axis, power-transmitting connections between said driving-shaft and the conveyers or carriers whereby the same may be moved to cause the material to travel through the machine, power devices to cause said driving-shaft to reciprocate,a fixed frame having vertical guides adjacent to the driving-shaft at a point intermediate of the conveyers or carriers, a driving-wheel surrounding said shaft and guided in a vertical plane by the fixed guides so as to revolve continuously in the same plane with freedom of adjustment in a vert-ical plane, universal jointed connections between the driving-wheel and the oscillating driving-shaft consisting of an intermediate ring hinged to the shaft on trunnions and also hinged to the driving-wheel hub on trunnions the axes of the two sets of trunnions being at right angles to each other whereby they all revolve together and adapt themselves to each other irrespective of the oscillations of the driving-shaft, and suitable means for rotating the driving-Wheel.

4. In a tentering-machine, the combination of two longitudinal carriers or conveyers for holding the cloth to be treated, a drivingshaft transversely arranged to said conveyers or carriers and adapted to oscillate upon an upright axis, power-transmitting connections between said driving-shaft and the conveyers or carriers whereby the saine may be moved to cause the material to travel through the machine, power devices to cause said driving-shaft to reciprocate, a fixed frame having U-shaped vertical surfaces acting as guides adjacent to the driving-shaft ata point intermediate of the conveyers, supporting horizontally-movable bearings for the driving-shaft, a driving toothed wheel surrounding said shaft independent of its bearings and guided by the fixed guides to revolve continuously in the same plane with freedom of adjustment in a vertical plane, universal connections between the driving-wheel and the oscillating driving-shaft whereby 'they revolve together irrespective of the oscillations ofthe driving-shaft, and suitable means for rotating the driving-wheel consisting of a power-shaft and pinion meshing with the driving gear-wheel.

In testimony of which invention I have hereunto set my hand. l

JEHU H. LOWNSBURY.

Witnesses: l

R. M. HUNTER, J. W. KENwonTHY 

